Gretel in The Dark by Eliza Granville.

The mysterious fairytale based novel set across two different centuries.

Hamish Hamilton, Feb 2014.

Gretel in the Dark focuses on two time zones – 1899 in Vienna with Dr Josef Breuer and then years later in Germany around World War II which is where we are introduced to Krysta.

Dr Breuer has a new patient who brings mystery. Found in the middle of the night and brought to his home, the girl has no name and claims to not even be human and that she is there to kill the monster.

Krysta is a young girl who is sheltered by her father, (he works in the infirmary with the ‘animal people.’) She spends her days listening to the fairy stories made up by Greet, the house servant. Tragedy then strikes and Krysta is forced into a concentration camp.  

The idea of this book intrigued me from the moment I read the synopsis and when I started reading, I couldn’t stop or put it down (even when I was meant to be sleeping before a night shift.) There were maybe a couple of slow sections where I didn’t quite know how it was tying in with the rest of the story but even then I couldn’t stop reading. It’s fairy tales mixed in with real life and I loved that.

The story was so atmospheric and it set such a vivid scene. I began with preferring the 1899 side of the plot. To start with, I found Krysta slightly annoying but as I continued reading, I learnt more about Krysta and I felt sorry for her as I gained more understanding of the character.

There were plot twists and turns, larger than life characters and some truly heart-breaking moments as I made my way through. I was trying to work out what was going on and what the connection was between the two eras and characters.

I didn’t see the end coming and felt emotional once I had got to the end and even though I finished it a couple of days ago, I am still thinking about it. If you like fairy tales and fantasy then I recommend this book.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.